Tag Archives: quantum physics

Quantum Dieting: Change Your Measurements, Change Your Life

An article in Seed surveys some recent research on quantum physics’s implications for common sense reality. Here’s the problem: [N]one of us perceives the world as it exists fundamentally. We do not observe the tiniest bits of matter, nor the forces … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Neurons That Fire Together Wire Together: The New York Times Says 8 Weeks of Meditation, 30 Minutes a Day, May Change the Brain

More study is needed (obviously), but the New York Times, in its Health section, has a startling article on meditation’s apparent ability to literally change how the brain wires itself up, and that after only 8 weeks of very modest (30 minutes a day) meditation … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Survival of the Physics: Quantum Darwinism?

Have you ever heard of quantum Darwinism? It’s not a form of New Age woo, but something that physicists are seriously exploring. This yesterday at PhysOrg.com: The basis of almost any theoretical quantum-to-classical transition lies in the concept of decoherence. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is the Universe a Quantum Computer?

A new book by Vlatko Vedral, Decoding Reality (2010), makes the case for this, and according to the reviewer of the book at New Scientist Vedral also gives a bit of intellectual support to some ideas that circulate among Hindu yogis: Vedral holds out … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Pow of Physics

After a year of being down for repairs, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is starting to, like, smash protons together again. According to the AP today: The aim is to hurl protons into each other at close to the speed … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is the Higgs Boson (the So-Called ‘God Particle’) the Creator and Destroyer of Worlds?

The CERN Hadron Collider may soon find out, and Jared Burton directed me to an interesting article about it. (And David Bowie may have gotten there first.) But in any case, according to the New York Times yesterday, two prominent … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We Don’t Die? We Can’t Die? If the Wave Function in Quantum Physics Doesn’t Collapse, Does that Mean Consciousness Can’t Collapse Either?

In thinking about near death experiences (NDEs), I had a thought that might support the idea that the human mind really is immortal. I must say, however, that I’ve never seen this argument made anywhere else, and so it’s probably … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

God, Mind, Quantum Effects, and Quantum Fluctuations: Is There Any Evidence that Invisible Entities (That Can Influence Matter) Actually Exist?

When a theist posits that there might have been some sort of mind, wisdom, or telos prior to matter at the beginning of the universe, are there any pieces of evidence that invisible entities even exist? Actually, there are. They’re called minds. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Philosopher David Sosa on Free Will v. Determinism

As portrayed in the critically acclaimed documentary, Waking Life:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quote of the Day: Albert Einstein on Time

Here’s a quote from Albert Einstein on time (yes, that Albert Einstein): “People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubborn, persistent illusion.” (Quoted on p. 27, and in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trippy Thought for the Day: Is Time an Illusion?

British physicist Julian Barbour thinks so. He has a book titled The End of Time (Oxford 2001), which I greedily wonder-devoured when it first came out. Dutch television did this 23 minute documentary segment summarizing Barbour’s views: The idea that time … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brace Yourselves: We May Live in a Hologram

This has been a big week for science announcements. First, there was the announcement that there may be life on Mars, and now New Scientist is reporting suggestive new evidence that the universe may be a holographic projection, in three dimensions, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments